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Rachel Reeves has said plans to eliminate paperwork and “arbitrary rules” for thousands of UK businesses will save companies around £6 billion a year until the next election.
He unveiled a package of measures aimed at boosting weak economic growth at a regional investment summit in Birmingham on Tuesday.
Business leaders and investors gathered as more disappointing news emerged chancellor Government borrowing reached its highest level in five years in September.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) puts more pressure on Ms Reeves ahead of November 26. BudgetIn which it will have to fill a black hole estimated by some economists at around £50 billion.
Ms Reeves acknowledged the economy is “not working as it should” and vowed to use next month’s statement to “take the necessary steps” to ensure stability.
Addressing the summit at the Edgbaston Stadium, he explained in detail about the company merger process, rules for drones and measures to improve artificial intelligence (AI).
He said a cross-economy AI “sandbox” would allow companies to develop new products “under the oversight of regulators.”
This will accelerate the approval of AI for use in areas including “legal services, planning evaluation and advanced manufacturing”.
The Civil Aviation Authority will take steps towards launching commercial drone operations which could allow unmanned aerial vehicles to be used widely for tasks “ranging from surveying sites for developments to delivering blood supplies for the NHS”.
Panels reviewing company mergers will be reformed to “provide greater certainty over whether a transaction will be subject to merger control”.
Ms Reeves confirmed plans to create simpler corporate reporting rules for more than 100,000 businesses, including removing the need for small business owners to submit lengthy directors’ reports to Companies House.
He said: “Our mission is clear, creating the right environment for investment through our regulatory reforms, increasing capital through our public financial institutions, and breaking down silos to collaborate on local projects, supporting innovation and growth across the UK.”
Investments made as part of the regional summit will create “thousands of jobs” and “support homes and services in people’s daily lives”, the chancellor said.
“I do not and will not take for granted the confidence shown by investors in Britain,” she said.
“I will not waste that trust.
“I know we have a long way to go until we have economic growth in every part of Britain. Growth that is felt in every part of Britain. We will move forward boldly to regulate for growth, not stifle business with arbitrary rules.”
Ms Reeves accused previous Tory governments of leaving “certain parts of our country out of investment”.
He highlighted investment in regional development projects, including £6.5 billion from US property company Welltower, the creation of thousands of new beds in elderly facilities, and the acquisition of land at Harwell East in South Oxfordshire by the Crown Estate, providing new laboratory and manufacturing space and the potential to build up to 400 homes.
The National Wealth Fund will also provide £104 million to finance onshore and offshore wind projects in Norfolk and Orkney, as well as building a heat network in Hull.
business secretary peter kyleMeanwhile, he said that if Britain had maintained its pre-2008 growth rate “and nothing had changed – no financial crisis, no pandemic, no Brexit”, its GDP would have been 21% higher by now.
Labor They have inherited a “national development emergency” from the Tories, he said, which “requires a national response matching the urgency, scale and importance of the UK’s continuing economic growth challenge”.
The government promised earlier this year to reduce the administrative costs of regulation by 25% by the end of Parliament.
Ms Reeves said the target would save UK companies around £6 billion a year.
The latest plans, including red tape cuts announced since March, are expected to contribute £1.5 billion to the savings target.
This comes on top of previous commitments to eliminate regulation that restricts certain industries.
The Chancellor’s “Leeds reform”, unveiled in July, promised to be the biggest package of changes to regulation on the financial sector in a decade.
This included reforming bank ring-fencing arrangements and reducing burdensome regulation in the city to reintroduce “informed risk-taking” into the financial system.
The government is pushing forward reforms to the planning system to help “bring manufacturing back to Britain”.